Find out how popular the last name Hovey is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hovey.

Hovey, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hovey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hovey in America

Hovey is the 6840th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hovey surname appeared 4,927 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Hovey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hovey to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Hovey

The surname Hovey originated in England and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "hoh," which means a heel or a ridge of land. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived on a ridge or heel-shaped hill.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hovey appears in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1194, where a person named William Hoveye is mentioned. The name was also found in various other medieval records, including the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275, which lists a Richard Hovey in Oxfordshire.

In the 14th century, the surname was sometimes spelled as Hovy or Hovie, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling that were common during that era. The Hovey family was particularly prevalent in the counties of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk.

Notable individuals with the surname Hovey include Richard Hovey (1864-1900), an American poet and dramatist who was part of the Fireside Poets movement. Another prominent figure was Charles Hovey (1810-1887), an American writer and horticulturist who founded the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

In the 17th century, several members of the Hovey family emigrated to the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded arrivals was Daniel Hovey, who settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1637. He later became a prominent citizen and served as a selectman and deputy to the General Court.

Another notable figure from this era was Alvah Hovey (1820-1903), an American Baptist minister and educator who served as the president of Newton Theological Institution (now Andover Newton Theological School) from 1868 to 1898.

The Hovey surname also has a strong connection to the town of Hovey, Illinois, which was named after Benjamin Hovey, who donated land for the establishment of the town in the mid-19th century.

While the origin of the surname Hovey can be traced back to England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, where descendants of the original Hovey families have settled and established their own lineages.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hovey

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hovey.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hovey was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hovey has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hovey was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hovey, please contact us.

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